Kannabi Bridge (8)

"If we continue like this, he'll catch up to us soon," Rin said, watching Kita slowly close the distance between them. Her thigh was injured, and she wasn't fast enough. She felt like nothing but a burden. 'If Yami-kun can't escape because of me, then I…'

"Yami-kun!"

"Don't panic," Yami said without looking back. He could roughly guess what was on her mind.

In the life-and-death missions he had experienced before, there were many ninjas like Rin who intended to stay behind to ensure his survival. Most of those ninjas were like Rin: young, commoner-born, with a passion and love for Konoha in their hearts. Yami, who had long been numb to this, would sometimes accept and sometimes refuse, but the results made no difference. At that time, he only had the ability to be invisible; whether he fought or retreated could not change the outcome.

But now it's a little different. Stealth mode combined with his sword skills and his Kekkei Genkai meant that, if used properly, he had a high chance to win against a single Jonin.

"But..." Seeing that Yami not only interrupted her but also had an indifferent expression, although Rin was touched, she became even more anxious. In just a short while, the enemy was almost upon them.

"Ah!" In her anxiety, Rin's leg injury flared up, causing her to slip and fall off the tree trunk.

"Chance!" Kita pulled a few shurikens from his pocket and threw them toward the falling Rin.

With no balance and nothing to step on, Rin could only helplessly watch as the shurikens approached her.

Meanwhile, Yami heard Rin's scream and looked back to see her falling, with Kita's shurikens headed toward her.

"Dammit!"

Just as the shurikens were about to hit her, Yami flickered in front of Rin, deflecting the shurikens with his kunai in a swift motion. He grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him.

As soon as he touched another tree branch, he used Body Flicker again to avoid the shurikens Kita threw at him.

"Th-thank you." Rin could only express her gratitude after Yami put her down and faced Kita, who stood opposite them, blocking their path.

Looking at Yami, Rin noticed two shurikens stuck in his back.

"Yami-kun… You!" She was at a loss for words, but she understood what had happened. Yami couldn't possibly have deflected all those shurikens with his unstable balance, so he used his body to protect her.

Meanwhile, Yami was cursing himself for making a mistake, causing a few shurikens to embed in his body. Just as he flickered to Rin's side, two shurikens hit him, and he could only deflect the others and suffer the injury in silence.

"Yami-kun, there are shurikens in your back!"

'Yeah, no shit.' Yami rolled his eyes before addressing her. "Don't worry about it, I can still fight." He removed the shurikens from his body and threw them away. He didn't ask Rin to heal him, knowing the enemy wouldn't give him the chance.

Rin understood and didn't offer either. Instead, she held the kunai and staggered to stand.

Though injured, she stubbornly picked up the kunai and faced the enemy. "Although I'm no match, I should be able to hold him back for a while if we fight head-on. Yami-kun, take advantage of this time..."

'As long as Yami uses his transparent escape, he will definitely be able to get away,' she thought.

"There's no need for anyone to sacrifice themselves..." Yami pressed down her hand holding the kunai and whispered a few instructions in her ear. "Also, I want to test my current strength, so please don't interfere in this battle for now."

"I... understand. Be careful." Rin looked at Yami's back before retreating to a safe distance.

The enemy was a Jonin, and she knew she couldn't help much in the battle, so she could only follow Yami's instructions, hoping his plan would work.

Kita smirked. "How noble, sacrificing yourself for a comrade," he taunted.

Seeing that the Konoha ninja in front of him had no intention of escaping and decided to fight, Kita felt slightly relieved. Judging from the action of saving Rin just now, this kid still had some strength left. If the other party chose to abandon his companion and escape, he might not have been able to catch up.

"And you can save her once or twice, but not a third time. The weak ninjas will be eliminated by this war sooner or later. Only those who survive to the end can be considered companions." Tightening his grip on the blade, Kita jumped, heading straight toward Yami who stood in his place.

Just as he was about to reach him, Yami suddenly vanished.

"Dammit." Kita landed on a tree trunk and looked around, searching for the enemy. "It's that weird Jutsu again."

The enemy seemed more proficient than his companion Daishi.

Suddenly, Kita felt a tingling sensation on his back. Honed by years of fighting experience, he instinctively turned around just in time to block Yami's sword as he suddenly appeared behind him.

"Huh, you sensed me. Impressive," Yami said before jumping back, distancing himself from the enemy.

"Huh." Kita panted with cold sweat on his forehead. That was a really close call. He only managed to block the attack out of pure instinct.

After looking at Yami for a while, he realized that his invisibility seemed even better than Daishi's.

'Fortunately, I know a way to crack this Jutsu.'

As Daishi's companion for years, they had many spars, which forced Kita to search for a way to counter his invisibility just in case he faced enemies with similar abilities.

Jumping from the tree, Kita landed on the ground a bit away from Yami, before forming a series of hand seals and slapping both hands on the ground.

Looking at the enemy's actions, Yami warily waited, but even after a while, no Jutsu shot his way, making him puzzled. Did the enemy make a mistake, or did he not have enough chakra to perform the Jutsu? Whatever the reason, Yami didn't pay much attention and instead vanished from his spot, entering stealth mode, before he flickered to Kita's left side, swinging his sword.

But suddenly, Kita, who looked clueless about his location, shifted his body, barely avoiding his sword.

"Huh," surprised, Yami jumped back, but just as he landed, Kita threw a few shurikens before heading straight toward him.

"Can he see me?" Yami was still in stealth mode, yet Kita managed to accurately guess his location.

Deflecting the shurikens, Yami became visible and used his sword to block Kita's blade. A metallic clang rang as they clashed.

"How were you able to find me?" Yami asked as he pressed his sword, but the enemy's strength was much greater than his own, and he was slowly losing ground.

"Hum, you're not the only one who could turn invisible." Kita increased his strength, pushing.

"I see." Yami narrowed his eyes. He guessed that Kita must have encountered someone who could become invisible, causing him to look for a way to counter similar Jutsu. Then Yami remembered how Kita made hand seals yet no Jutsu was shot his way.

"So, that's what it was."

Figuring out how the enemy managed to find him, Yami stomped the ground.

"Huh? What are you doing, kid?" Kita couldn't help but mutter, seeing his weird actions, but suddenly, he felt his balance shift—something grabbed his left leg.

"Shit." Looking down, he saw a tree root entangling his leg, and he could swear he saw weird small eyes and a mouth on the root. "What the—"

Just as he was stunned, Yami seized the opportunity to push Kita away and jumped back.

Still in the air, Yami formed a series of hand seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball shot toward Kita, who barely had time to react. Quickly forming seals, he slammed his hands onto the ground.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu!"

A thick wall of earth erupted from the ground, blocking the fireball. The collision caused pieces of the wall to crumble and rocks to fly, but the wall still managed to block the fireball.

Meanwhile, Kita quickly freed himself by cutting off the root and jumping back, distancing himself.

But looking around, Yami's figure was nowhere to be found.

***

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Btw, a friend of mine is trying to write a Naruto fanfiction, but he always seeks perfection. I don't have much time to help him out to write, so he is looking for people to beta read and edit, for free of course.

If you're interested in helping him out, please let me know in the comments.